


When a Demon Comes to Call

by cywscross



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Demon Tsuna, Dimension Travel, Gen, older tsuna
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-21
Updated: 2016-10-21
Packaged: 2018-08-23 20:00:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8340850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cywscross/pseuds/cywscross
Summary: Tsuna met him when he was eight and surrounded by scary people with guns. The-man-who-probably-wasn't-a-man had brown hair like his own with eyes like fire and two long feathery black wings."Do you want to live?" The angel-man asked.Tsuna was Dame and bullied, stupid and friendless, and forever struggling to keep his head above water if only for his mom – but he whispered, "Yes."





	1. Chapter 1

 

_Tsuna ran._

_He ran and ran and tried not to trip as he scurried away from the bullies on his tail. He'd already gotten shoved around yesterday and the day before that and several times last week – he didn't want anything more to happen to him before his scrapes and bruises healed._

_His heart lifted when he slipped around a corner and caught sight of a rundown building up ahead. He could hide in there! He had managed to lose the bullies after taking a shortcut through a few alleys so he could hide for now and wait until he was sure they had given up._

_Panting, he kept his eyes glued on the building, only to run headlong into someone who suddenly stepped out from behind a tree, knocking him clean off his feet and onto the ground with a painful thud._

_Fearfully, he peered up, freezing when he found a man with a hard expression staring back at him. One of the man's hands was in his coat pocket._

_And then, before Tsuna could even blink, there were five more men around him, all wearing black suits and ties, all of them scary and glaring, and all of them pulling out-_

_Guns?_

_He managed a terrified shriek and tried to scoot back but there was nowhere to run even if he could get to his feet. "Wh- What do y- you want? I- I don't h- have any m- money!"_

_One of the men snapped something to the others in a language Tsuna didn't understand, and then they were all arguing, waving their weapons at him. Most of them looked doubtful and angry but the one who looked to be the leader said something sharp and pointed – one of the words sounded like "Primo" – and the others calmed and turned back to Tsuna again._

_"Sorry, boy," The leader said, this time in accented Japanese and not looking sorry at all. "Nothing personal. Our boss just needs you out of the way."_

_And then Tsuna was staring down the barrel of a gun, and he could barely breathe as he shrank back, tears welling up in his eyes. "W- Why? D- Did I do s- something wr- wrong? I- I'm s- sorry! I- I-"_

_No more words would come as he heard a click and the scary man stepped forward, gun pointed at Tsuna._

_And Tsuna thought of his mother who'd never see him again._

_But did that matter? His mom would be better off without an idiot son who couldn't do anything right, and Tsuna wouldn't have to get hurt and run from bullies and bring home grades that only let down his mom-_

_Another step and Tsuna squeezed his eyes shut, feeling salty tears streak down his face, and hoped it wouldn't hurt too badly. He flinched when a loud bang rang out, but-_

_But there was no pain._

_Loud shouts made him blink, carefully uncurling from the floor. His mouth dropped open when he spotted the figure standing in front of him._

_Long, long black wings, the tips almost brushing the ground, were the first things Tsuna saw, feathery like a bird's, but they were attached to a brown-haired man's back instead._

_The man-who-probably-wasn't-a-man was holding one hand out in front of Tsuna, and it took him a moment to realize that the stranger had_ caught _the bullet aimed at him between two fingers._

_Tsuna cringed when more shots were fired, but even as his entire body shook from panic, he could at least push himself up into a sitting position and watch with a pounding heart as his rescuer's wings flared open and caught all the incoming bullets before ripping the weapons from the bad guys' hands with a flick of his wrist._

_"Kid,"_

_Tsuna jumped and hastily looked up when he realized that the angel-man was talking to him. His eyes widened when he met the stranger's eyes. They were the colour of fire, pretty and dangerous at the same time._

_He gulped and remembered to reply. "Y- Yes?"_

_The angel-man tilted his head, orange eyes gleaming in a pale face. "Do you want to live?"_

_Tsuna goggled at the stranger. Did that matter? Did he... want to live?_

_He was Dame and bullied, stupid and had no friends, and sometimes, only sometimes, he went to sleep at night, aching with cuts and bumps, and wished he wouldn't wake up in the morning._

_But he also remembered his mom, who worked hard and took care of him and smiled even on Christmases and birthdays when his dad was supposed to come home but couldn't_ again _._

_His mom who loved him even though he was Dame-Tsuna._

_He drew in a wobbly breath and whispered, "Yes."_

_And he must've finally done something right, even though he didn't know what it was, because the angel-man smiled, just for a moment, like he was proud of Tsuna, and then there was nothing except soft black feathers all around him, and all Tsuna felt was safewarmprotected-_

With a gasp, Tsuna shot up in bed, tussled with the blankets tangling his legs, and then fell off the bed with a muffled thump.

"Oww!" He whined, rubbing his head and trying to figure out where he was.

His bedroom. He had just fallen out of bed as he usually did five times a week and sunlight was streaming in through his curtains.

Yesterday rushed back and he narrowly missed banging his head against his desk as he shot to his feet, looking around wildly for the angel-man.

The angel-man had taken care of those bad guys, Tsuna was sure, though he didn't know what his rescuer had done to them. All he had seen were midnight wings as he was picked up and cradled against a warm chest.

And then the angel-man had brought him home,  _flown_  him home, just in time for dinner. Tsuna had eaten in a daze, still in shock and too tired to do more than assure his mom that he was fine before stumbling up to bed.

But there was no man with black wings and fire eyes now. Tsuna drooped with disappointment. Of course, why would the angel-man stick around? There was no reason for it now that Tsuna was safe and back home.

"Tsu-kun!" His mom called from downstairs. "I heard a crash – did you fall out of bed again?"

"Y- Yes!" He called back but made no move to do anything other than sink back onto his bed again. "B- But I'm a- awake now!"

He stared gloomily at his hands. There was no school today either – he could sleep in, but all he could think about was the angel-man.

"If you're up, you might as well stay up," A low voice said lazily.

Tsuna froze, and then leapt to his feet again and spun around. That was the angel-man's voice!

But there was no one in his room. Had he imagined it?

"Curtains, kid," The voice spoke up again.

Tsuna twitched and then cautiously approached his curtains and peeked outside.

And there he was – the angel-man settled on a branch of the tree outside, dressed in black pants and a white long-sleeved shirt though there were no wings to be seen at the moment. The brown hair was still the same though, and the eyes still glinted like flames.

 _His hair's kinda like mine_ , Tsuna thought absently.

Hesitantly, he unlocked his window and opened it, shivering a bit as a gust of wind blew past him.

"U- Um," He started timidly, hunching a bit when the angel-man glanced at him. "H- Hello."

He meant to say thank-you, he really did since he hadn't been able to do it yesterday, but what came out instead was, "Who- Who are you?"

The angel-man didn't answer, leaning back and staring up at the leaves above instead.

Tsuna tried again. "A- Are you a- an angel?"

He started when the angel-man chuckled. It was a nice sound but it wasn't a nice laugh.

Tsuna frowned. Bitter. Sad too. He didn't like it.

"No," The not-angel-man denied. "Not an angel. You ever seen an angel with black wings, kid?"

"I- I've never seen a- any angels before," Tsuna said honestly. This got another laugh but it was happier than the first one. Tsuna was secretly pleased.

"No, I don't suppose you would have," The not-angel-man mused.

A long silence passed until Tsuna began fidgeting and couldn't stay quiet any longer. "A- Are you a- a birdman then?"

The maybe-birdman now looked amused and baffled at the same time. "Birdman? No, I don't think I'm that either."

Tsuna squeaked and fell back, arms wind-milling when his rescuer blurred and suddenly materialized on his windowsill instead, perched on the ledge with an easy grace.

"Whoa," The not-birdman reached out and steadied Tsuna before he could crash to the ground again. "You're a bit clumsy, aren't you?"

Tsuna's shoulders sagged, flushing with embarrassment ( _Dame-Tsuna can't even walk right!_ ), and then he jerked back when a finger flicked his forehead.

"Ouch!" He yelped, more out of surprise than pain.

"I was just stating a fact," The not-birdman said mildly, rocking back on his heels. "There's nothing wrong with being clumsy, though I suppose you'd be safer if you worked on it."

Tsuna slumped miserably. "I- I don't know how. I- I'm always tripping e- everywhere."

"Could try walking for once," The not-birdman suggested. "Even from what little I saw yesterday, you're always running everywhere. Make more time and watch your feet."

Tsuna shuffled in place for a moment. "I- I have to run. The- The bullies d- don't usually..."

He trailed off, ashamed and hurt and uncomfortable all over again.

"All bullies want is attention," The not-birdman revealed. Tsuna slowly looked up into amber eyes again. "You run or plead with them to stop and they'll only continue."

"B- But if I don't," Tsuna protested. "They'll just do it anyway. Th- They take my stuff a- and push me around-"

He faltered, hands fiddling with the hem of his pyjamas. What must his rescuer think of him now? Yesterday with the men and the guns was one thing, but not even able to stand up for himself against bullies was-

Something soft brushed his cheek. Tsuna's head snapped up and he stared in astonishment at the single black feather floating in front of him.

"For protection," The not-birdman promised as Tsuna gently reached out and plucked the feather out of the air. "Until you can take care of yourself."

Tsuna petted the soft strands. It was warm to the touch. "I- I don't know if I can."

"You can," The not-birdman said adamantly. "I will teach you."

Tsuna stared again, wide-eyed. "Why? W- Why did you save me? Why me?"

The not-birdman shrugged elegantly. "I felt like it. Feel like it. You're an interesting kid. You remind me of me when I was a child."

Tsuna gaped. He couldn't imagine anyone less like him. His rescuer was brave and strong with pretty eyes and wings and wasn't scared at all of those bad guys. "Y- You? N- No way!"

"Yes way," The not-birdman nodded. "I was a lot like you when I was young. I'll teach you a few things to get rid of bullies."

"B- But still," Tsuna bit his lip. "Why- You could help someone else. Why would you want to help me?"

His rescuer just watched him with an odd expression for a long minute before reaching forward and patting him on the head.

"I feel like it," He repeated. "Nothing better to do anyway."

The not-birdman cocked his head and opened his mouth to say something more, only to close it again as his gaze slid to the door. A second later, he had tipped backwards, and even as Tsuna rushed forward to look over the windowsill, the stranger had disappeared.

And Tsuna still didn't know who he was, or what he was for that matter.

"Tsu-kun?" Two knocks, and then his mother was standing in the doorway, looking somewhat concerned. "Are you alright? What are you doing standing over there? You could catch a cold."

Tsuna turned, and even as he closed his window, the smile he answered his mother with somehow seemed more real. "I- I'm fine, Kaa-san."

For once, as he carefully tucked the black feather warming his fingers into one pocket, the words actually sounded true in his ears.

 

* * *

Tsuna didn't see the not-angel-man-not-birdman for the next few days, but he did get to see just what the feather could do.

On Monday morning, he triple-checked the black feather in his pocket before setting out for school. He even remembered his rescuer's advice about making more time so he wouldn't have to run, but halfway to school, Tsuna was once again fighting back fear when he turned a corner and spotted his usual bullies up ahead.

They spotted him half a second later.

Or at least, they turned in his direction but made no move to taunt him with his faults or try to steal his lunch or chase him.

Tsuna wavered, and then swallowed hard before crossing the street and hurried past them, keeping his head ducked as he jogged for Namimori Elementary.

He didn't stop until he reached the school gates, gasping for breath with one hand clenched around the feather in his pocket.

They hadn't seen him. None of them had. Did the feather make him invisible?

"Herbivore, all students are to report to their classrooms at once," A dangerous voice said.

Tsuna eeped, shying away from the school prefect who had appeared just inside the school gates. He didn't know how Hibari did it – the boy was only two years older than he was yet all the teachers were perfectly happy to let him run the school when it came to discipline.

Tsuna bobbed his head and shot off towards his classroom. It would be a  _really_  scary day if Hibari ever got followers. At least right now, the prefect couldn't be everywhere at once.

The rest of the day was much the same as usual – teachers called on him and scolded him for bad test results and wrong answers while the other students snickered – but at lunch, none of the bullies who normally picked on him seemed to be able to find him, even when one of them passed inches in front of Tsuna as he ate his lunch on the roof.

And as he made his way back to his classroom, he could still feel the warmth radiating from the feather, a comforting glow against his leg.

 

* * *

"Wh- What should I call you?" Tsuna asked when he came home on Wednesday and found, to his delight, his rescuer lounging outside his window again.

His visitor hummed thoughtfully. "What do you want to call me?"

Tsuna puffed out his cheeks as he looked at the fire eyes and thought back to the black wings.

"Tenshi-san!" He said brightly, and pouted when the man snorted.

"I told you, kid, I'm not an angel."

Tsuna huffed. "Well you have wings! S- So if you're not gonna tell me your name, then you're Tenshi-san... or Tori-san!"

His visitor sighed. "'Angel' or 'Bird' – how uncute. You don't have much of an imagination, do you?"

But before Tsuna could defend his ideas, his rescuer shot him a sharp grin – and Tsuna would swear that he caught a glimpse of much sharper teeth – and told him, "But if you insist, you can call me Tenma."

Tenma. Demon. Evil spirit.

The not-angel-man-not-birdman was watching him with glinting orange eyes. "Are you scared?"

Tsuna thought about it for a moment and then shook his head.

Tenma raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"Because you saved me," Tsuna said simply, and then added more shyly, "And 'cause you stayed and you talk to me and you helped me with the bullies, s- so that makes you my friend too?"

He winced when he heard the question in his own voice but Tenma only smiled.

"If you want to be, then I guess we are," The demon agreed, and for the first time in years, Tsuna grinned.

Later that night at dinner, Tsuna couldn't help blurting to his mother, "I made a friend!"

His mom visibly perked up, looking hopeful. "Did you, Tsu-kun? That's wonderful! What's they're name? Are they in your class?"

Tsuna flushed, nervously scuffing one foot on the ground. "H- He's older than I am. I- I don't think he's in school anymore. B- But he's really kind! He saved me from bullies! Sometimes, he looks sad too, but he talks to me and he said we could be friends if I wanted to."

There was no point mentioning the men with guns – that would only make his mom worry.

Nana had lowered her bowl of rice and was listening even more closely now. "And what's this person's name?"

Tsuna hesitated, realizing that perhaps telling his mother of befriending a grownup demon wasn't a very good idea, and then told her, "Tenma. He said his name's Tenma."

"Hmm," Nana was suddenly smiling again, warm and cheerful like always. "What a beautiful name."

Tsuna blinked. "Doesn't it mean 'demon'?"

Nana nodded. "Oh yes, it can, but it could also mean 'true sky'."

Tsuna dropped his gaze to his rice bowl.

_Are you scared?_

He wondered if Tenma knew his name's double meaning, and then promised himself that he would tell the demon next time, if only to make his rescuer happier.

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

"When you get into a fight, what would be your reasons behind it?" Tenma asked as Tsuna clumsily went through one of the katas that the demon had started him on.

Tsuna frowned, and then almost tripped over his feet when his concentration wavered. "I- I don't  _want_  t- to fight."

Tenma shrugged, leaning back against the porch doorway. "Sometimes, you won't have much of a choice."

Tsuna made a face. "C- Can't I just run?"

Tenma levelled him with an unreadable look. "You can't run forever."

Tsuna paused at this, glancing uncertainly over at the demon.

It had been four weeks since he had first met Tenma, and three weeks since his mom had come home early from work one day and had managed to catch Tsuna trying to persuade Tenma off their tree, out of the rain, and into the house. Nana had been completely horrified and had all but ordered Tenma inside, bustling the bewildered demon into the bathroom before digging up some of Tsuna's father's clothes while Tenma had taken a hot shower.

And then, somehow or other, Tenma's until-the-rain-stops stay had extended to a much longer one with the demon moving into the guest bedroom after Tsuna's mom had insisted. Of course, Tenma had tried to object and leave (leave where, Tsuna didn't know because as far as he knew, the demon pretty much lived in their tree), but the way Tsuna saw it, it was two against one which meant that the demon had had to stay in the end.

Of course, Tenma had then paid for his stay by taking over some of the housework, walking Tsuna to and from school (something his mother had always been worried about because she didn't have time to do it), and bringing home money from whatever work the demon had managed to find. Nana had assured him that it wasn't necessary but Tsuna knew she was happier because of it – his mother had already dropped one of the two jobs she had been juggling and Tsuna now saw her every day when he came home from school.

Needless to say, he was delighted with the arrangement. It was almost like having an older brother in the house.

At the moment though, Tenma was saying one of those things Tsuna didn't understand, one of those little pieces of advice that he tried to remember even if he didn't fully know what the demon meant – after all, why couldn't he run? If he practiced, he'd be able to run more, and running forever was...

Well, it actually sounded kind of scary, but Tsuna didn't know why. Not to mention it also sounded a bit tiring so he supposed Tenma had a point.

"Th- Then I'd fight and then r- run away?" Tsuna suggested tentatively.

Tenma tilted his head. "If you ever fight, Tsuna, you fight to win. And if you win, there's no need to run away.

"But," The demon pinned him with a sharp gaze. "That's not what I'm asking. When you fight, what would you fight for?"

Tsuna frowned in thought. Something about Tenma's voice made him feel that this was an important question.

"I- I'd fight to- to protect myself?" Tsuna scratched his head. "W- What else w- would I f- fight for? I don't want to h- hurt anyone just because we're fighting."

Tenma's brow furrowed and Tsuna had the feeling that that wasn't the answer the demon had been wanting to hear, but before Tsuna could shrink back into himself for failing something as simple as a mere question, Tenma waved a hand and sat back again.

"I suppose that's good enough for now," The demon said. "Either way, just remember: you don't fight to hurt; you fight to protect. What you protect is up to you. Understand?"

Tsuna nodded. He understood, for the most part. He wasn't sure what he should defend if not himself though.

Tenma hummed and nudged his foot back into position. "Good. Now continue your kata. After that, you're jumping rope."

Tsuna pouted but obeyed. He hated jumping rope – he always tripped after three or four jumps – but Tenma had promised that it would help him become less clumsy.

 

* * *

"I'm home!" Nana called out cheerfully, placing her groceries on the dinner table. When only muffled giggles answered her, she made her way to the backyard. The sight that met her eyes brought a soft smile to her face.

Tsuna was scampering around the backyard, attempting to catch their newest addition to the family in a game of tag. Tenma, light on his feet in a way that she had never seen on another person, danced just out of reach, an amused half-smile on his face as her son chased him around the yard.

 _They could be brothers_ , Nana thought absently as she leaned against the doorway and watched them play.

Which was perhaps half the reason she had insisted that the young man stay after finding out that he didn't really have a home (Sleeping in their tree? Honestly, Tsu-kun should've invited the poor man in weeks ago!). Somehow, impulsively, and coupled with the gravity-defying brown hair and rather similar features, Nana had invited him into their house at once. There was just something about Tenma that seemed familiar to her and tugged at her maternal instincts.

(And with the exception of the man's eyes – which were an enchanting amber colour that Nana had only ever seen in fires – she secretly thought that Tsuna might grow up to look a lot like Tenma one day, half a head taller than her, kind and helpful, and with an air of grace about him and a confident gait to his step.)

"Your mother's home, kid," Tenma's voice interrupted, and Nana took her cue and stepped outside, opening her arms as her son, more animated than she had seen him in a long time, bounded towards her and tackled her with a hug.

"W- Welcome back, Kaa-san!" Tsuna beamed at her. "H- How was work?"

Nana ruffled his hair. "Not as busy as usual, Tsu-kun. How was your day?"

And then she was listening to her son babble a mile a minute about the workout Tenma had put him through and the math homework that he 'sort of got' and how he had managed to convince Tenma into promising to take them out for sushi tonight.

"You really don't have to, Tenma-kun," Nana said as her houseguest swept past them and began putting the groceries away. "For this and the sushi."

"Least I can do. And it's not all for Tsuna, you know," Tenma smiled, a little sheepish. "I've only had sushi twice in my entire life and the last time was years ago. I wouldn't mind eating it again."

Sushi only twice? But Tenma had to be at least twenty by now! Maybe he lived somewhere else where sushi wasn't common?

Nana nodded determinedly. "Then we'll go out tonight. There's a very good sushi restaurant a few blocks down – we can go there."

Tenma grinned, a startlingly boyish look on the young man. "Thanks, Nana-san. I'd hate to hear Tsuna complain for the rest of the week."

Beside her, Tsuna puffed up indignantly. "I- I would not! Lying is bad, Tenma-san!"

Nana hid a smile behind her hand as Tenma proceeded to tease her son.

She didn't know very much about the young man but she was glad he had appeared anyway.

 

* * *

"Hey, you're Sawada Tsuna, right? From my class at school?"

Tsuna froze, and then glanced meekly over his shoulder at the boy standing a foot away and smiling brightly at him. "U- Um, yeah."

The boy grinned. "I almost didn't recognize you! I'm Yamamoto Takeshi! My dad owns this place. You must not eat sushi here much or I'd have seen you around before."

Tsuna stared wide-eyed at his classmate, not sure what to make of the other boy's easy chatter. He knew Yamamoto; everyone in their grade did – he was friendly with everyone and one of the most popular kids at school, but he'd never talked with Tsuna before.

"I didn't know you had a brother," Yamamoto was saying, and Tsuna automatically glanced at the older man sitting on his right, a slight smile etched on his face.

Tsuna floundered, not sure what to say, and it looked like Tenma was going to be no help whatsoever.

"H- He's not my brother," Tsuna stammered out, but regretted it when Yamamoto's eyes lit up with curiosity. He didn't want to lie but what was he supposed to say? Tenma was a random stranger who just happened to look like Tsuna and was staying with them but wasn't really related? "H- He's..."

"I'm a family friend," Tenma cut in smoothly.

At the same time, Tsuna's mother chimed from his left, "He's my nephew. Tsu-kun's older cousin."

They all blinked and looked at one another for a few bewildered seconds before Tenma smiled winningly and nodded in agreement. "And Nana-san's nephew. I just moved to Namimori recently."

Yamamoto opened his mouth to respond but another voice interrupted from a doorway leading to some stairs. "Yamamoto, come on! You said you had that new video game that just came out? What are you doing?"

"I'm coming!" Yamamoto called back. "Just saying hello to a classmate!"

"Who-? Wait, is that  _Dame-Tsuna_?"

Tsuna cringed, face burning with embarrassment as his gaze dropped to the sushi in front of him. Great, not only had Yamamoto's friends caught sight of him, his mother and Tenma were here as well.

"You don't have to waste time saying hi to Dame-Tsuna, Yamamoto! He's-"

Tsuna blinked when the boy who had been jeering at him suddenly fell silent. His head jerked up and he saw that the three students that Yamamoto had invited over were all looking to Tsuna's right, expressions reminding him of the troublemakers at school when they got caught by the teachers or, worse, Hibari.

He looked up as well. He would've flinched if Tenma had been looking at him.

The demon was still smiling but there wasn't a trace of warmth or humour in it. Instead, the chill it emanated made even Tsuna shiver, and the look in Tenma's eyes as he stared back at the three boys was cold and unforgiving. No wonder Yamamoto's friends all looked like they had been turned to stone.

"Oi, Takeshi!" The owner of the restaurant – Yamamoto's father – had come out from the back and was taking in the situation with a faint frown on his face. "Are you bothering the customers? If you're finished down here, take your friends upstairs."

Yamamoto ducked his head and shot an apologetic look in Tsuna's direction before scampering off towards his friends. All three couldn't get away fast enough.

"Sorry about that," The sushi chef came over. "They should know better than to bother people in the restaurant."

Tsuna shrugged a bit and shook his head, glancing again at Tenma. The demon didn't look scary anymore, only neutral as he picked up his chopsticks once more. He looked over at his mother who seemed slightly upset but there was a fond, grateful smile on her face as she peered at Tenma.

"It- It's okay," Tsuna assured the chef for all of them when Yamamoto's father seemed to want a response.

The chef smiled kindly at him but insisted, "Next round of orders' on the house. What would you like?"

Later, when they had paid and were on their way out the door, Tsuna hesitantly stumbled over to Tenma's side and grabbed the demon's hand before his courage could fail him.

Tenma glanced down at him, one eyebrow rising.

"Thanks," Tsuna whispered, and offered an awkward, wobbly smile.

Tenma said nothing, but he didn't pull his hand away as they made their way home, Nana walking on Tsuna's other side with a wide, pleased smile on her face.

 

* * *

"Nephew, Nana-san?"

Nana blushed at the amused look that their newest addition threw at her as they sat at the dinner table enjoying a late cup of tea. Tsuna was already in bed.

"It was the first thing I thought of," Nana admitted sheepishly. "I hope you don't mind me saying but you do look very much like Tsu-kun might in the future."

Tenma shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't mind if you don't mind. I know it would be awkward to explain to the neighbours where I came from. You're already doing a lot by letting me stay here."

Nana waved a hand. "And you're paying back in full. I've certainly been less busy ever since you arrived, and Tsu-kun's very happy with his new big brother."

She hid a smile behind her teacup when Tenma rubbed the back of his neck, a crooked smile on tilting his mouth.

"It's a good thing," Nana added. "I've always wanted Tsu-kun to have a role model."

A flash of something darker flitted across Tenma's expression. "I'm not the best role model for your son, Nana-san."

Nana tilted her head, studying the man sitting across from her. She wasn't the smartest of people, and she always tried to act cheerful and happy in front of her son even if she didn't feel like being either, but she was smart enough to at least notice anyone who wanted to harm her or her son. She'd like to think she was a good judge of character.

(She had only failed once, when it came to the one and only man she had ever loved in her life.)

And for all that he had appeared out of nowhere, Tenma didn't strike her as someone out to hurt Tsuna or herself.

"Well," Nana smiled warmly at the young man. "Tsu-kun certainly likes having you around. And pretending to be my nephew clears up a lot of confusion."

Tenma smiled again, the darkness nowhere in sight. "If it makes things easier, then that's fine. But anytime you feel that it's time for me to leave-"

Nana shot him a rare stern look. "None of that. I'll see about having some papers drawn up. I'm sure I can dig up a... relative somewhere."

Tenma sighed in resignation but nodded. "I can get the right papers. ...Thank you, Nana-san."

Nana just smiled once more. "You're part of this family now, Tenma-kun. There's no need to thank me."

 

* * *

Tsuna's ears burned whenever the kids at school picked on him but he'd learned to live with it and it didn't bother him as much as it had in the beginning. He was used to being bullied.

However, while Tsuna knew he was Dame and clumsy and hated fighting with people, he wasn't going to stand for anyone saying bad things about the people he cared about either.

"-bet that older brother of yours is Dame too!"

"Dame-Onii-san!"

Tsuna was on his feet before his bullies had stopped laughing. "Y- You take that back!"

Used to Tsuna never standing up for himself, this came as a shock to the other students and all of them fell silent in the face of Tsuna's clenched fists and shaking shoulders.

And then one boy laughed, the one who had taunted Tsuna a few days ago at the restaurant. "Or what? What's  _Dame-Tsuna_  going to do about his  _Dame-Onii-san_?"

"T- Tenma-san isn't Dame!" Tsuna retorted. "D- Don't talk about my f- family like that!"

"It probably runs in the family," The boy jeered, shoving at Tsuna so that he stumbled back. "Your Dame-Onii-san didn't even say anything to defend you-"

"Y- You were scared of him," Tsuna bit out, anger ringing in his ears and sending a weird feeling of heat spreading throughout his chest. "Tenma-san scared you and he didn't even have to say anything."

The boy's expression darkened and he shoved Tsuna again. Or tried to. Without thinking, Tsuna stepped to the side and pushed clumsily at his classmate's outstretched arm before lashing out with one foot and tripping the boy so that he went down with a surprised shout, hitting the ground with a muffled thump.

Tsuna made to continue the partial kata, out of instinct alone if nothing else, but he stopped when Tenma's words cut through his anger and cleared his head.

_"You don't fight to hurt; you fight to protect."_

Tsuna hastily backed away and took a deep breath. The boy was already down; it would be wrong to continue to do anything to him. Besides, Tsuna didn't exactly want to hurt the boy; he had just wanted to defend Tenma.

He started, mouth dropping open as he finally understood what Tenma had been telling him three days ago.

Tsuna couldn't just protect himself anymore, right? He had to protect his family too. Well, Tenma didn't really need much protecting and he probably wouldn't care what Tsuna's classmates said about him, but he wasn't around at the moment so Tsuna would have to step up instead.

And if any of them said anything about his  _mother_...

Tsuna jumped when wailing sobs pierced the air, and his eyes widened in horror as a teacher came running and the boy he had knocked onto the ground accused Tsuna of hitting him.

He'd never gotten into a fight in his life!

 

* * *

Half an hour later, Tsuna sat miserably in the principal's office. He'd tried to explain that the boy had been insulting Tenma – his cousin, he had said firmly since that was what both his mother and Tenma had agreed on – and had shoved him as well.

The teachers were at least willing to believe that Tsuna wasn't the type to go around hitting other people without cause but he was still in trouble for tripping the other boy. It was something Tsuna couldn't understand – he went home with bruises every week since he had been five yet his classmate had started bawling over a fall? Tsuna was pretty sure he hadn't given the boy so much as a scraped knee.

His classmate had already been picked up by his parents, both shooting lofty disapproving looks at Tsuna before taking their leave, and Tsuna was now waiting for his mom to come. They were both being sent home for the day as punishment.

"Tsuna?"

Tsuna's head jerked up and he blinked in surprise when he found Tenma leaning against the doorway of the waiting room, arms crossed and eyebrows raised. "Tenma-san?"

Tenma quirked a smile. "I've already talked to the principal. Ready to go?"

Tsuna slid off his seat and shuffled forward timidly. "I- I'm sorry for getting into a fight."

Tenma didn't seem to be angry though, taking Tsuna's hand and ignoring the blatantly curious stares they were getting from the staff as they made their way out of the school. "Why were you fighting?"

Tsuna huffed. "It- It wasn't even a real fight. He was bullying me like usual and I was just going to ignore him but then he called you Dame-Onii-san and I couldn't just let him! And then he tried to push me and my body sort of moved before I could stop and I tripped him. He didn't even get a bruise!"

He drew in a deep breath as he finished before peering anxiously up at the demon. "A- Are you angry?"

Tenma glanced down at him before a hand came up to ruffle Tsuna's hair. "No, brat. Thanks for defending me."

Tsuna's eyes rounded. "Y- You're not angry? I got in trouble!"

Tenma shrugged, and Tsuna let out a startled squeak when the demon picked him up and swung him around for a piggyback ride. "Sometimes, that's unavoidable. I'm not telling you to go out of your way to pick fights from now on, nor do I need you to defend me every time some idiot insults me, but if you feel like it's necessary – like you have to – do something to protect someone you care about, then go for it."

"Even if it gets me in trouble?" Tsuna asked, arms tightening around Tenma's shoulders as he settled comfortably against the demon.

Tenma nodded, brown hair brushing against Tsuna's cheek. "Even then. You do what you think is right, Tsuna."

Tsuna smiled into Tenma's shoulder and finally relaxed for the first time since lunch.

"Ne, Tenma-san?" Tsuna recalled something the insult that the boy had used. "They called you my Onii-san."

"I suppose they did," Tenma agreed.

Tsuna bit his lip nervously before blurting out, "C- Can I call you that too? I- I mean not Dame-Onii-san of course but..."

He faltered, face turning red. He'd never had anyone to call brother his entire life, but Tenma looked after him and helped him with his homework and was his sort-of-cousin now so-

"Sure," Tenma said cheerfully. "I don't mind."

Tsuna brightened, and he grinned enthusiastically even though Tenma couldn't see it. "T- Tenma-nii then. Or just Nii-san. Okay?"

Tenma laughed, a rare sound all on its own. "Yeah, okay, kid. Whatever you want. Now how about an ice-cream before we go home? To celebrate the fact that you're finally getting the hang of those katas."

Tsuna nodded excitedly. "C- Could I have a chocolate cone? Two scoops?"

"Three extra laps tonight for an extra scoop," Tenma warned.

Tsuna pouted but he loved chocolate and three extra laps didn't sound too bad. "'Kay. But I want sprinkles too."

Tenma shook his head but Tsuna could sense the smile in his voice. "Demanding. Fine, sprinkles it is. And we'll buy one more for your mom to butter her up a bit before you break the news to her."

Tsuna made a face. "Do we have to tell her about my suspension?"

"She'll wonder why you're home an hour early," Tenma pointed out. "Besides, secrets split people apart. It's better not to keep too many."

Tsuna sighed but nodded. He supposed that made sense. "Kaa-san likes vanilla. Let's buy her an extra scoop too; she might need a lot of buttering up."

He didn't really understand but beamed all the same when Tenma laughed again, shoulders shifting with whatever the demon found so funny.

"I suppose she just might," Tenma agreed, and then let Tsuna down when the ice-cream shop came into view.

Tsuna grinned again and began dragging the demon forward. For a suspension from school, it wasn't so bad.

 


	3. Chapter 3

 

"I've been thinking about joining the swim club at school," Tsuna announced one night at dinner. His mother looked up in surprise while Tenma only blinked once over his rice bowl. Tsuna pouted a little. Nothing ever surprised his pseudo-cousin.

It had been three years since Tenma had entered his life. Tsuna was now eleven, far happier than he had been at eight, a much better student overall though he still wasn't pulling straight A's, and he had a smatter of friends at school whom he talked to and spent time with every day. He was no longer just Dame-Tsuna.

"What brought this on, Tsu-kun?" His mom recovered, looking curious. "I know you've taken a liking to swimming ever since Tenma-kun taught you how to swim properly but this is rather out of the blue."

Tsuna scratched sheepishly at one cheek, grinning a little. "Um, well, I  _do_  like swimming, and I need  _something_  to fill my club activity hours. And I'm getting tired of track and field all the time; Tenma-nii's already getting me to run every day before school!"

His mother just giggled at his put-out expression while Tenma ignored his umpteenth complaint about the laps around his neighbourhood that the demon had instructed him to run ever since Tsuna turned nine.

" _To keep fit,"_  Tenma had said adamantly.  _"And you're the one who said it's boring just running in the yard."_

Tsuna rued the day he had ever mentioned that. Or perhaps it wouldn't have made a difference. Knowing Tenma, Tsuna would've just had to run  _quadruple_  the amount he had first started with.

"I wasn't aware there was a swim club at your school," Tenma remarked offhandedly, and Tsuna winced at the perceptive observation.

"...There isn't," Tsuna admitted with a sigh. Nothing got past his cousin. "But Mayu-chan and Ren-kun really want to start one, even if it's just for fun and not competitive, and there has to be five people and an advisor before a club is allowed to form. We already have a teacher who's agreed to be our club advisor if we find enough people, Yuki-chan says she'll join if I join, and Hisoka-san says he doesn't care so long as he has a club to sign up for by the deadline."

Tsuna sucked in a breath as he finished rattling off the list of requirements. It still brought a warm glow to his chest whenever he thought of the friends he had made nowadays.

Harada Mayu and Harada Ren were brown-haired, blue-eyed twins, and a year below Tsuna. They had taken to following him around ever since that one time back in fourth grade when Tsuna had had to resort to using some of the aikido that Tenma had been teaching him to chase off a few middle school kids that had been bullying the twins on their way to school. It had been embarrassing at first, the way both students had stared at Tsuna with awe and gratitude in their eyes for the first few weeks, but when Tsuna had panicked and flailed to Tenma about this, the demon had just laughed and advised him to tell the twins to tone it down so they could be friends instead. It had taken some convincing, but eventually, Mayu and Ren had dropped the uncomfortable hero-worship, and the three of them had been steadfast friends ever since.

At first, other students had either thought it uncool for Ren and Mayu to be hanging out with 'Dame-Tsuna' (Tsuna hadn't yet been able to drop that nickname entirely back then), or they had thought it uncool for Tsuna to be hanging out with younger kids. Tsuna hadn't really cared what they thought. His mother and cousin had approved when Tsuna had shyly invited the twins over that first time, and to him, that was all that mattered.

And then, halfway through fourth grade, a few months after he had befriended the twins, Fuse Yukiko had transferred into his class from the States, a girl with long white hair coupled with red eyes, stumbling over her Japanese despite being of Japanese descent, and had instantly been a target of a lot of teasing from her peers. Her looks weren't something you saw every day, and even though she could understand the language most of the time (if the teacher spoke too fast, then she'd get confused anyway), she still had trouble speaking it.

Having been on the receiving end of bullying for being a weakling and a complete idiot himself barely a year ago but still relatively new to the whole friends thing, Tsuna had – after two weeks of watching from afar – hesitantly pulled Yukiko into his new circle of friends. Tenma – whom Tsuna wouldn't put past knowing every single existing language on the planet – had drilled a basic understanding of English into Tsuna's head within six months of their acquaintance (it was now his best subject at school), so Tsuna had known enough of the language to get by with Yuki, and anything he didn't know had been successfully conveyed with hand gestures or a dictionary.

That had been the beginning of another friendship. Yuki had been near tears after her first two weeks at school, withdrawn and miserable until Tsuna had approached her at lunch and struck up a conversation with her in English. She had been understandably wary at first but she'd warmed up to him quickly enough, thrilled that someone besides an adult could speak to her without trouble or taunts, and the reticent, timid girl had reverted back to the bubbly chatterbox that Tsuna had quickly realized was her real self.

Mayu and Ren had acted a bit strangely towards Yuki at first, grumpy and terse all the time whenever Tsuna had dragged Yuki over to join them at lunch and after school, and to this day Tsuna still didn't know why. The twins had refused to tell him when he had privately asked them if there was a problem, but then – five weeks later – Yuki had stood up for him one afternoon, yelling heatedly in a mix of Japanese and English at one of the handful of bullies that still hadn't learned to leave Tsuna well enough alone until the idiot had retreated just to get away from Yuki's nonstop scolding, and the twins had – all of a sudden – thawed like frost under the sun at high noon. From that point on, Yuki had been enthusiastically welcomed.

It had all been very baffling but Tsuna couldn't complain with the way things had turned out. He had gained another friend, the twins had been back to their mischievous selves, and everyone Tsuna cared about had been happy.

On the other hand, there had been black-haired, teal-eyed Kurogane Hisoka.

People called him the second coming of Hibari Kyouya, and for good reason. Hisoka could certainly be just as vicious as Hibari, who had moved up to middle school once Tsuna had hit fifth grade (much to the heartfelt relief of pretty much  _everybody_  in Namimori Elementary, and the horror of students and staff alike at Namimori Middle).

There were differences of course, one being that Hisoka didn't go looking for fights while Hibari had practically made it his business to seek out troublemakers to 'bite to death', and another being that if Hibari's motto had been 'break the rules and I'll make you pay', then Hisoka's motto would be 'if you so much as look at me wrong, I'll wipe the floor with your face'.

Hibari had been all about discipline so even though he had been a loner, he would still patrol the school and neighbourhood regularly. Thus, he was pretty well-known.

However, Hisoka couldn't care less about discipline; so long as you didn't bother him, then he virtually made it a point to avoid human contact as much as physically possible. If you didn't annoy him or give him any – however unintentional – reason to break your nose, then you could crowd or bully younger students or deface school property right in front of Hisoka and he wouldn't give you the time of day. This was probably why Hibari was generally thought of with more fear than Hisoka was, even though there were whispers of Hisoka belonging to a gang or something.

So back before he had gotten to know Hisoka, Tsuna had been perfectly alright with never interacting with his quiet but potentially aggressive classmate. Heck, Tsuna had made it a point to stay away from people like Hisoka. He didn't like conflicts so as long as he didn't absolutely  _have_  to fling himself into one in defense of himself or his friends, then Tsuna was fine with steering clear of trouble. Hisoka had been trouble in bright red letters, and Tsuna had had no qualms minding his own business and leaving Hisoka to his.

That was before their science teacher had thrown them together for a project.

Now  _that_  had been daunting. Dame-Tsuna had resurfaced for a while, and every time Hisoka had so much as looked at him, Tsuna would trip if he was walking or stutter if he was talking, and he hadn't needed to be a mind reader to know that his classmate had been highly unimpressed with him by the end of that class, most likely concerned about receiving a passing grade for their project, and about two seconds away from snapping him in two.

It probably hadn't helped that Yuki had been – and still was – the kind of person who had no self-preservation whatsoever, and had spent the entire period glaring holes into Hisoka's back.

Of course, projects required time outside of school, and it was always difficult to find a free table at the library when projects cropped up. Hisoka had sent him a withering glare when Tsuna had tentatively asked if they should work at the other boy's house so Tsuna had reluctantly invited Hisoka over to his.

Within fifteen minutes of introducing Hisoka to his mom and cousin, and then sitting down in the living room with their work and a very sullen silence choking the air between them, Tenma had had to leave the house, fat lot of good that had done because Tsuna hadn't been deaf and had still been able to hear the demon snickering with laughter and muttering about kids and how cute they were out in the backyard.

Hisoka had looked murderous, and had flung himself at Tenma the moment the man had walked back inside, only to get the surprise of a lifetime when the demon had merely quirked a mildly amused smile, easily sidestepped Hisoka, swept the boy's legs out from under him, and dropped him to the ground before calmly sauntering through to the kitchen.

" _M- My cousin's kinda really strong,"_  Tsuna had explained almost apologetically when Hisoka had hauled himself up and twisted around to stare demandingly at him.  _"He's the one teaching me how to fight."_

Hisoka had raised an eyebrow at that, scrutinizing him as if trying to figure out just how good Tsuna could be in a fight. But true to form, the other boy hadn't been  _annoyed_  with Tsuna (at least not then), so he hadn't done much more than look a bit disgruntled as he dropped back into his seat. He hadn't even gone after Tenma. Apparently, Hisoka was quick to irritate but even quicker to calm down.

But with Tenma in the vicinity, Tsuna had at least been able to settle down enough to work with Hisoka without fearing for his life, and that had become routine for the four weeks spent working on the project. It had been slow-going, especially when they worked during class and Hisoka's temper would flare every few minutes because someone was too loud or the teacher was asking them if they were doing okay too many times. When it was just the two of them though, sometimes with Tsuna's mother puttering around in the kitchen or Tenma lounging on the window bay and reading a book, the atmosphere would be calmer. Even Tsuna had loosened up enough to chatter about one thing or another, and Hisoka had been a little more responsive though still largely silent and impassive, alternating between doing their project, scoffing half-heartedly at some of the things Tsuna said, and watching Tenma. Hisoka had developed a rather odd relationship with Tsuna's cousin, springing at Tenma with a punch or a kick in a constant attempt to take Tenma off-guard (none of which ever landed on their target), but all the attacks had always been underscored with a respectful sort of curiosity.

And then, near the end of their science project, there had been The Incident.

With guns and men in suits.

It was like The First Time: Take Two, except Tsuna had been ten and he hadn't been alone that time. Instead, he had been walking home with Hisoka trailing a few steps behind him, and they had just turned onto a deserted street when a dozen dangerous-looking people had swooped in out of nowhere, cornering them against a wall in a matter of heartbeats.

Even today, when he thought back to that time, Tsuna was still surprised that Hisoka had automatically crowded forward to stand a little ways in front of Tsuna like it had been instinct. Tsuna was fairly certain that Hisoka hadn't even thought about it before shoving Tsuna to the side and scowling fiercely at all the men aiming weapons at them.

Of course, then Hisoka had demanded to know what kind of grudge the men had with the Kurogane-gumi, and that they should take whatever grievances they had to his father, and everything had made a lot more sense, even though Tsuna had already known – instinctively – that the men hadn't been there for yakuza-related problems.

The gunmen had all jeered and said as much, and Tsuna had gently but firmly tugged Hisoka back, putting himself in front of the subtly perplexed boy instead. Hisoka had blinked at him with more than a little alarm but Tsuna had ignored it, biting down on his fear and squaring his shoulders instead as his hand had plunged into one of his pockets where Tenma's black feather had been stored.

" _Please leave me alone,"_  Tsuna had said as steadily as he had been able, and he'd inwardly cringed at the waver in his voice.  _"I don't have anything you want."_

The man who had clearly been the leader had snorted and stepped forward, gun pointed at Tsuna's head.  _"_ You're _what we want. Your head, to be specific."_  And just like The First Time,  _"Sorry, kid. Nothing personal."_

Yeah, nothing personal, Tsuna had thought before yanking out the feather and throwing it out in front of him, hoping against hope that it would work.

Tsuna hadn't expected Hisoka to dive on top of him half a second before the leader had fired his gun, and  _Hisoka_  hadn't expected the bullet to burn up as the black feather Tsuna had thrown had swirled once through the air before exploding in a tidal wave of darkness that roared to life and expanded like a shield between Tsuna and Hisoka and the gunmen.

" _What the hell?!"_  Hisoka had hissed into Tsuna's ear from where he'd been hovering over Tsuna on the ground.

And then, out of the darkness, Tenma had glided out, and even without the wings, the demon had looked every inch his name, cold otherworldly fire burning in his eyes, and the flash of razor-sharp fangs in his mouth when he'd spoken to Tsuna and Hisoka.

" _Go,"_  Tenma had ordered, and that single word had demanded obedience. Tsuna hadn't even considered defying it, and Hisoka had seemed to be of the same mind because he had pulled himself together admirably well, grabbed Tsuna's wrist, and whisked him away down three alleys, picked the lock of a door to a rundown building, and then proceeding to lead Tsuna through a hole in the ground into the sewers, taking five different turns before they had surfaced again in another alleyway very close to the street that Tsuna lived on.

After that, things had been a blur. Once they'd been safely ensconced in Tsuna's room, Tsuna had admitted to Hisoka that a different set of hired guns had come for him before, though he had no idea why, and like last time, Tenma had been the one to save him. That, of course, led to a short explanation of  _what_  Tenma was ( _"He's his name; it's pretty obvious."_ ), and that no, Tenma wasn't  _really_  related to Tsuna's family, and Tsuna himself was most definitely not a demon.

And then Tenma had come home, bringing the coppery tang of blood in with him even though his clothes had been as immaculate as ever. The demon had swung in through the window, graceful as a feline as he'd landed on Tsuna's desk, and his amber eyes had pinned Hisoka in place even as he'd asked quite pleasantly what Hisoka planned to do with all the things he'd learned.

Hisoka had narrowed his eyes, glancing between a clinically interested Tenma and an anxious Tsuna before giving a blow-by-blow summary of his own life as the son and heir of the Kurogane-gumi of Namimori but that he had refused to have anything to do with that life thus far.

It had been an exchange of sorts, a secret for a secret, and it'd been Hisoka's way of saying that he had no intention of revealing anything.

And that had been that.

Except for one thing.

After the project had been finished and handed in, Hisoka had promptly kicked the student who usually sat in front of Tsuna out of his seat, and had stared their homeroom teacher down when she'd asked him to move back. And no matter how much Yuki glared at him, or how much the twins grumbled that a big meanie had joined their group, Hisoka hadn't budged, and perhaps most astounding of all, he never laid a truly violent hand on Tsuna or his friends, even though Tsuna was certain that Yuki and the twins often drove the loner up the wall with their incessant babbling and pranks alone. Hisoka bore it all with stoic patience or crabby comments though, and when it got  _really_  bad, the boy would simply disappear for a while, yet he'd always come back.

A lot of students, younger and older, had thought Hisoka had gone soft just because he had willingly started hanging out with Tsuna's group, and generally seemed a little more lenient with the people who got on his nerves. However, after that one time when a few idiots had decided to test their luck and had ended up as a twitching heap on the ground, bloodied up and groaning with pain, nobody had had the guts to try again.

But Tsuna didn't mind so long as the twins' pranks didn't get out of hand, and Yuki took time to breathe between her rambling, and Hisoka didn't permanently damage anyone. They were his friends, his first friends  _ever_ , and they genuinely seemed to like him (though it was always hard to tell when it came to Hisoka). He'd known the twins for two years, Yuki for one and a half, and Hisoka – properly – for one, and none of them had gotten tired of him yet. That had to be a good sign.

"I don't see why not," Tsuna's mother was saying now, interrupting Tsuna's trip down memory lane. "It sounds like a great idea. If that's what you want to do, then I'll be cheering all of you on!"

Tsuna beamed at his mom before glancing questioningly at Tenma. The demon cocked his head and smiled serenely at him. "If that's what you want. This swim club better not just be for the five of you to float in a pool though. Or I might find a sudden urge to become your coach."

Tsuna blanched at the thought. Tenma as coach; that would be... well, they'd be terrorizing the swimming community before the year was out. His cousin could get  _Hisoka_  to work, and besides beating up the people who rubbed him the wrong way, and mandatory class work, Hisoka was the laziest person Tsuna had ever met. It was probably why Yuki's sugar-high personality never failed to make the other boy look like he wanted to drown her at least once a week. Even the twins – who had a playful streak a mile wide – weren't as excitable as Yuki was. Occasionally, it was plain  _weird_  because in the rare times that Yuki didn't talk and could sit still, she looked like the quiet and composed type that one would expect from a young lady of a rich family or something.

"We will!" Tsuna nodded hastily. He loved Tenma, and his friends liked the demon too (Mayu liked him a bit  _too_  much, blushing bright red whenever Tenma walked into the room or talked to her directly), but Hisoka might seriously kill him if Tsuna's cousin became their coach. All of them had learned early on that no matter how laidback Tenma was normally, when it came to  _doing_  something, the older man was never satisfied with anything less than your best effort. Tenma would whip them into miniature star swimmers before Tsuna, Hisoka, and Yuki graduated next year, and while that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, Tsuna would still like to be able to feel his limbs at the end of each practice.

Tenma hummed noncommittally and returned to his dinner as Tsuna's mother ruffled her hair and launched into an enthusiastic daydream about all the swim meets she would be able to go to to cheer Tsuna on.

Tsuna sweatdropped but let her at it. Even after three years of getting used to it, it was still rather nice to see his mom genuinely happy, face no longer lined with fatigue and stress now that Tenma was here to help out with the bills and even housework. Tsuna's mother now worked at a bookstore five days a week from morning to afternoon, and with Tsuna doing better academically, athletically,  _and_  socially, along with Tenma's own reliable presence, the nights she used to spend crying in her room over Tsuna's nonexistent father had slowly but surely decreased.

Tsuna himself was beyond happy these days. Sometimes, he still woke up in the mornings wondering whether or not everything was just a dream, and the mere thought that it  _was_ just something he came up with in his head would put a horrible fear in his heart, until Tenma came knocking on his door to tell him that breakfast was almost ready, and then Tsuna would roll out of bed, exhilarated and secure in the knowledge that his life really had taken a turn for the better.

And right now, he wouldn't trade what he had – a lively, healthy mother, the four greatest friends anyone could have, and  _Tenma_  – for anything in the world.

 

* * *

"Good morning, Tsuna-senpai!" Two voices chimed, and Tsuna automatically turned, a grin already splitting his face as he watched the twins bounce up to him.

"Good morning, Mayu-chan, Ren-kun," Tsuna greeted as they fell into step beside him, but before he could say anything more, a white blur accosted his left arm, and Yuki's slightly accented voice filled his ears with familiar chatter.

"Morning, Tsuna!" Yuki chirped, red eyes glittering under the sunlight. "Hey, Mayu, Ren! Did you study for your math test? Are you ready for it? I can totally help you if you need someone to ask you questions before the test. Oh! Tsuna! Did you ask your mum and Tenma about forming the swim club? We could totally do it! I've seen you swim, and you're amazing! And I'd work  _really_  hard, and I'll even kick Hisoka's butt in gear-"

" _Whose_  ass are you gonna kick, Fuse?" An irritable voice interrupted, and Tsuna craned his head around to smile ruefully back at their group's last member.

Yuki turned her nose up, a stubborn glint in her eyes. "Yours, of course! God knows you'd probably just float on your back and do nothing all day if I don't force you to swim properly."

Hisoka scoffed, scowling indiscriminately at all of them when the twins snickered to each other and Tsuna couldn't quite hide his own amusement. "I'd like to see you try. Do you even know how to swim?"

"Of course I do!" Yuki retorted hotly, finally relinquishing her grasp on Tsuna's arm as she flounced forward a few steps before spinning on her heel to face them as she walked backwards. "What about you, you slacker? I bet you were always too lazy to learn!"

"I know for a fact that you can  _both_  swim so there's no point arguing about the issue that's not an issue," Tsuna cut in loudly before Hisoka could shoot back something nasty. The dark-haired teen rolled his eyes but closed his mouth, prompting Yuki to subside with a huff as well. Tsuna eyed them both with no small amount of exasperation. Those two were like cats and dogs with each other, especially in the morning. Yuki was a morning person while Hisoka was not, so the former's twenty-four/seven energetic behaviour usually grated on the latter's nerves.

"So what  _did_  your family say about the swim club, Senpai?" Mayu piped up inquisitively as they approached the school gates. "Can we do it or do they want you to stick with track?"

"Oh, they're both fine with it," Tsuna assured. "So we can turn in the forms today."

As the twins and Yuki whooped, Hisoka scoffed, "As if either of them would've said no. Obaa-san agrees with anything that makes Sawada happy, and Tenma-san doesn't care so long as Sawada doesn't slack off when it comes to his training."

"Yeah," Ren tossed back cheekily. "Tenma-san doesn't even let _you_  slack off when you join them, Hisoka-senpai."

Hisoka cuffed the younger boy lightly around the head as they entered the school. "I wouldn't go over there in the first place if I wasn't prepared for that. Now shove over; that's my locker you're standing in front of."

They part ways briefly to change their shoes before walking the twins to their classroom first.

"You're ready for that math test?" Tsuna recalled when they reached the door.

"Don't worry, Senpai," Mayu looked confident.

"Yuki-senpai already helped us loads the past few days," Ren continued, grinning up at Yuki as the girl in question beamed.

"So we're definitely ready," Mayu concluded as she and her brother waved goodbye. "See you guys at lunch!"

"Let's go then," Hisoka prodded impatiently, glancing disdainfully at all the younger students around them. Most ducked their heads and scurried away whenever his gaze passed over them. "Jeez, what a bunch of midgets."

"They're only a year below us!" Yuki snapped, elbowing Hisoka in the gut as Tsuna sighed and led the way upstairs to the top floor. " _We_  were these 'midgets' not two months ago!"

Hisoka just glowered at her, rubbing his side. "Don't do that unless you wanna lose your arm, Fuse."

Yuki didn't back down, hands balling at her hips. "Ha! I'd put an arrow through you before you could lay a finger on me, Hisoka-baka!"

Sometimes, Tsuna couldn't believe how violent his friends could be. Hisoka, fine, but Yuki always looked too sweet to seem like a real threat. Then again, she  _had_  been Namimori's star archer since she entered the kyudo club last year. Yuki was a natural with a bow, and Tsuna suspected that her fellow teammates in that club would riot when they realized that she would be part of a newly-formed swim club this year.

"Ne, Yuki-chan," Tsuna interjected before anyone could say anything more. Yuki immediately whirled to face him, expression expectant. "Are you sure you don't want to keep up with kyudo this year? You know you don't have to join the swim club just because we need five people. We could always find someone el-"

Tsuna choked on his words the second Yuki's expression crumpled into teary desolation.

"You mean you don't want me in your club?" Yuki wailed as Tsuna inwardly panicked. "Tsuna, how could you be so mean?! Aren't I your friend? I want to be in the same club as you! Are you going to kick me out before I even join? That's so cru-"

"Alright, alright! Nevermind! Of course you can join!" Tsuna flapped his hands frantically, and then facepalmed when Yuki's tears instantly disappeared. Hisoka snorted derisively from beside him. "I just said that because you're really good at archery so I thought you'd want to continue it."

Yuki rolled her eyes at this. "It's not like I can't do archery anymore just because I won't be in the kyudo club. I know the school practice range is almost always booked by the team but I can just get Tenma to take me out to the local one like before. Don't worry so much, Tsuna. I want to try swimming. If I  _really_  don't like it, I'll just try something else when we enter middle school."

"Unless your grades tank and you end up getting held back a year," Hisoka snarked, smoothly dodging another elbow courtesy of Yuki.

"You be quiet!" Yuki ordered indignantly. "I'm smarter than you are, not that that's very hard."

"I don't study," Hisoka pointed out rather smugly. "And I'm still pulling an A- average, same as you, and you  _do_  study."

Yuki crossed her arms. "The only reason I'm not getting higher is because of my Japanese mark, and that doesn't count!"

"And I only have a B- average," Tsuna grumbled in a joking tone, effectively cutting off another argument before it could get off the ground. " _Thank you_  for rubbing it in."

"Oh, that's not what we meant, Tsuna!" Yuki fretted just as Hisoka drawled, "You're welcome. I'm always here to remind you in case you forget."

" _Ignore_  him," Yuki groused, sniffing haughtily in Hisoka's direction. "He's  _such_  a meanie!"

Tsuna just sighed again, suppressing a smile at his friends' antics. And then, as they rounded a corner, he hastily scooted to the side when two of their classmates came barrelling forward, almost crashing into Tsuna and probably would've knocked him off his feet if he hadn't reacted fast enough.

Yuki looked startled, breaking off from her squabble with Hisoka and automatically reaching for Tsuna to check him over for injury instead. Hisoka on the other hand was far less passive, never missing a beat as he shifted his weight, lashed out with one leg, and tripped up both boys with unforgiving consecutive kicks to their knees, sending them tumbling to the ground with pained yelps.

"Oi," Hisoka leaned over the closest one, blue-green eyes narrowed coldly. "Didn't anyone ever teach you to watch where you're going?"

The student sprawled farther away shrank into himself even more while the closer one flinched a little but summoned up an apologetic smile as he rubbed the back of his head. Tsuna recognized him as Yamamoto Takeshi.

"Haha, sorry about that," Yamamoto said, tawny eyes flitting nervously from Hisoka to Tsuna and Yuki and then back to Hisoka again. "We were in a hurry to talk to the baseball coach about tryouts and class is going to start soon and we didn't mean to almost bump into your friend and-"

Hisoka rolled his eyes and nudged Yamamoto none-too-gently in the ribs with one shoe. "Shut up. You're lucky you didn't hit him. This won't hurt as much."

His expression took on that particularly deadly cast that Tsuna recognized as Hisoka's I'm-going-to-beat-the-crap-out-of-you face, and before the loner could actually carry out his intentions, Tsuna hastily surged forward, gently pushing Hisoka back as he slotted himself between his friend and the two boys on the ground.

"Stop that, Hisoka-san," Tsuna admonished. "It was just an accident, and besides, nothing happened. I'm fine, so no fighting, okay? Besides, you'll get in trouble if you start something in the hallways again."

Hisoka's brow knitted together, and his gaze hardened for a moment, a silent challenge in the face of Tsuna's insistence. The taller boy always looked like that whenever Tsuna asked him not to fight, as if testing his boundaries, and as per usual, Tsuna didn't look away from the bloodthirsty gleam in Hisoka's eyes.

Seconds later, Hisoka blinked and glanced away, raking their downed classmates with a scornful look but taking a step back as his shoulders eased and he promptly lost all interest in the offenders.

Tsuna breathed a sigh of relief before turning to his classmates with a sheepish bob of his head. "Sorry about that. Hisoka-san can be a bit scary."

Hisoka scoffed behind him as the two boys cautiously clambered to their feet now that the danger seemed to have passed.

"Ah, it was kind of our fault," Yamamoto smiled again and waved a hand while the other student shuffled his feet and stayed a step behind his friend.

"Don't worry about it," Tsuna said earnestly as he retreated to his friends' side. "You better get going if you need to talk to the baseball coach before class starts."

Recollection dawned on both boys' faces, and with a last apology thrown over the first boy's shoulder, the two students sped away down the hall once more.

"Mou, how rude," Yuki remarked as she frowned disapprovingly after their classmates. "They're not even supposed to be running in the halls."

"I'm fine," Tsuna repeated firmly. "And  _you_  run in the halls sometimes, Yuki-chan. Running over other people, I might add."

"Yeah, but I'd never run  _you_  over," Yuki said logically as if that was all that mattered. Hisoka shrugged in a she-makes-a-good-point way.

Tsuna threw his hands into the air and gave up. His friends were  _so_ unreasonable.

 

* * *

"I vote Tsuna-senpai as captain!" Mayu volunteered.

Tsuna flailed a little in his seat. "Eh? Wait, wha-"

"I agree!" Ren – predictably – concurred with his sister.

"Wait a min-"

"Oh, me too, of course!" Yuki threw in her opinion. "I already thought Tsuna was captain. I didn't know we still had to talk about it."

"Of course we have to talk about it!" Tsuna burst out, finally able to get a full sentence in. "Why me?!"

"Why not?" Ren countered stoutly, arms resting on the back of the chair he was straddling. "Who else can be captain here?"

"Well-" Tsuna gestured broadly at Hisoka who had kicked four chairs together earlier and was currently using them as a makeshift bed, napping with a book over his face. "Well I thought Hisoka-san would be captain!"

" _That_  idiot?" Yuki scoffed. "I'd never follow him! He's not even paying attention right now. Hey, Hisoka-baka, wake  _up_!"

Yuki hooked a foot around one of the chairs' legs and yanked it towards her. Much to her disgruntlement though, Hisoka was already moving away by the time she pulled out the chair from where his head had been resting, book falling into his lap as he sat upright and yawned exaggeratedly before smirking arrogantly at Yuki. Yuki shot back a dirty look.

"Hisoka-san, I've seen you swim," Tsuna brought up before the conversation could go off on a tangent. "You're pretty good at it, and you've been swimming longer than I have, and you're the oldest!"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Hisoka grumbled long-sufferingly, reclining back in a single chair now. "I don't want to be captain. It's too much work. You do it."

"But-"

"Okay, it's been decided then!" Mayu clapped her hands together as Ren scribbled the information into the form they were filling out. "We all have to call Senpai 'Captain' from now on!"

"No you don't!  _What's_ been decided exactly?!" Tsuna whined at the ridiculousness of the situation. "Don't I get a say in this?"

"No," Four voices answered him without sympathy.

"It's four against one," Ren pointed out. "You lose, Senpai. I mean, Captain."

Tsuna buried his face in his hands.

 

* * *

"Namimori sucks," A student from a rival school sneered, and Tsuna had to lunge for Hisoka's arm, digging in his heels when the teal-eyed boy looked ready to rip the moron apart.

"Hisoka-san! Stop!" Tsuna hissed. "You're gonna get us banned or something! Just ignore him!"

The team that had decided it would be a good idea to confront them after the meet had ended – who had also been one of many schools who had pretty much wiped the floor with Tsuna's team – now sniggered amongst themselves as Yuki moved forward to help Tsuna haul Hisoka backwards.

"Why is Namimori even here?" Another student asked with a mocking laugh. "If you're looking to humiliate yourselves, you did a pretty good job, I'll give you that. Your relays were so sloppy, and your two preschoolers were embarrassing to watch!"

Mayu's shoulders hunch while Ren looked ready to follow in Hisoka's footsteps and fling himself at the nearest sixth-grader. Tsuna really hoped he didn't because it was already taking everything he and Yuki had to wrestle Hisoka back.

"Come on," Tsuna muttered, and then louder, ignoring the next round of laughter from behind them, "Come  _on_ , we're leaving. Now! Captain's orders!"

Before they made it out the door however, Tsuna craned his head around and bit out frigidly through a tight jaw, "My two 'preschoolers' will wipe the floor with your faces at the next meet. Then we'll see who the embarrassment is."

And without giving any of them a chance to spit something back, Tsuna shoved Hisoka through the pool doors, made sure Yuki still had a good grip on him, and then wrapped an arm each around the twins as they headed for the locker room that had been set aside for them.

"We- We won't be able to do that, Captain," Ren mumbled dejectedly.

"Yes you will!" Tsuna objected fiercely, giving both his younger friends a gentle but determined shake. "'Cause we're gonna get a coach."

This made everyone pause. Even Hisoka who had been fuming in silence pulled up with abrupt consideration. Yuki brightened, graciously overlooking the rough way Hisoka shook her off a second later. And the twins suddenly looked a lot more hopeful than they had a mere few seconds ago, Ren's shoulders squaring while Mayu smiled a little, cheeks pinking faintly at the mere thought.

"Right then," Hisoka said brusquely, slinging his bag over one shoulder. "Let's go talk to Tenma-san. He's becoming our coach even if we have to blackmail him into it."

Tsuna grinned. Blackmail wouldn't be necessary.

 

* * *

If the five of them weren't all intensely competitive in their own right, this  _so_  wouldn't be worth it.

"Five laps to go! Tsuna, have your arms turned to noodles? Drag them through the water like you actually want to pull yourself forward! You're depending far too much on your legs! Yukiko, you're lagging! You'll be working on your stamina even more after this! Hisoka, tighten your strokes! The extra movement is unnecessary; you're just wasting energy! Ren, keep your legs straight when you kick! You'll go faster that way! Mayu, remember to breathe after three strokes or you'll run out of air and you'll throw your rhythm off!"

"Torture," Hisoka muttered as they gasped for air at the end of thirty nonstop laps. The older boy shoved his bangs out of his eyes before dragging himself out of the pool and flopping onto his back on the floor. "This is torture. I hate your cousin, Sawada."

"No you don't," Tsuna wheezed, clinging to the side of the pool since he had no energy left to follow Hisoka's example. "You love Nii-san, admit it."

Hisoka fired a dark look at him but didn't waste what little breath he had left protesting.

In the next lane over, Yuki looked half-dead as she clutched the lane line and gulped in air. The albino had great arm strength but bad stamina, and that weakness was definitely making itself known.

The twins were a little better but still visibly exhausted, neither looking like they wanted to move again anytime soon.

"Five-minute break," The voice of the devil said from somewhere above them. "And then I'll be splitting you off. Yukiko, you'll be running laps outside again. Expanding your lung capacity is the first step, and it'll be easier if you start off out of the water."

Yuki groaned rather breathlessly, plunging her face into the water. Tsuna thought she looked like she was trying to drown herself.

"Mayu, Ren, drills in the pool," Tenma continued heedlessly. "Mayu, you'll be learning how to regulate your breathing. It's still becoming choppy too soon even before you really start needing air. Ren, you'll be training your leg muscles. Squats in the shallow end I think. Don't give me that look; you'll strain something if you don't develop your muscles properly."

The twins pouted in unison, and even Mayu didn't have enough energy to blush when Tenma was talking directly to her.

"Hisoka," Tenma instructed next. "Good stamina, good speed, good everything overall, but you need to work on your form. Laps like Yukiko, but in the pool instead. Pay closer attention to your strokes."

Hisoka grunted his acknowledgement but didn't bother with anything more than that. Clearly, he was smart enough to rest as much as he could  _while_  he could.

"And Tsuna," Tenma finished, tipping his head to the side of the pool. "You're coming out of there too. Your arm muscles are still weak in comparison to your legs. You'll be doing push-ups until you die."

Tsuna could've cried. He settled for slumping against the edge of the pool. Why were they doing this again? Oh yeah, to beat the pants off the other teams at the next swim meet.

"Break's over! Up and at 'em!"

Tsuna joined in the heartfelt griping that followed that pitiless announcement.

Times like these, it wasn't so hard to remember that Tenma was an honest-to-god demon.

 

* * *

"Ne, Tenma-nii," Tsuna said from where he was slumped on his cousin's back. Tenma had called them all sloths after practice when none of them had wanted to get up and walk home but the demon had still sighed in the end before giving a red-faced Mayu a piggyback ride back to the twins' house. After dropping off the twins and Yuki, as well as seeing Hisoka off, Tenma had slung Tsuna on his back to carry him the rest of the way home.

"Hm?" One amber eye peered back at Tsuna.

Tsuna hooked his chin over his cousin's shoulder. "Thanks for training us."

Tenma hummed. "Not much different than what I normally do anyway."

"Still," Tsuna persisted doggedly but didn't expand on it. He'd learned that a simple thanks without elaboration worked best when it came to Tenma.

Tenma quirked a smile, and neither of them spoke again until their house was in sight.

And then-

Crash!

They both blinked and frowned at the house.

"What-" Tsuna started.

A scream sliced the air, and Tsuna's blood froze because  _that was his mother's voice._

Tsuna didn't even have time to open his mouth before Tenma had vaulted over the front gate, broke the lock on the front door with a single shove of his right hand (and claws, if the new gouge marks Tsuna glimpsed on the door as Tenma stormed inside was anything to go by), and raced into the kitchen, all without dislodging Tsuna from his back.

"Kaa-san!" Tsuna shouted as he slid off Tenma's back. He was expecting gunmen or assassins or whatever else had decided to come after Tsuna once again but had smartened up enough to go after his mother instead.

However, it was none of those. His mom was alone in the kitchen, the crash had been one of the kitchen cabinets toppling over onto the floor, and in front of her was...

There was a small compartment carved into the wall, previously hidden from sight by the cabinet, and it looked like his mom had found it after accidentally knocking the aforementioned cabinet over, and had opened it out of curiosity.

And inside, stashed away like some secret treasure, was a small pile of  _firearms_.

"Nana-san, please come away from there," Tenma's even voice was like an anchor in a storm, and Nana's frozen expression of shocked fright finally eased up a little as she hurried around the dining table to join Tenma and Tsuna, allowing the former to steer her over to Tsuna and even farther away from the stockpile of weapons.

Tsuna hastily latched on to his mother, ushering her behind him as her hands trembled against his shoulders.

"I- I didn't know those were there," Tsuna's mom stammered out with an uncharacteristically shaky note underscoring her voice that made Tsuna's gut twist with anger. "Iemitsu loves that cabinet for some reason and told me to never move it. He- He told me he never wanted so much as a dent in it. But I knocked it over earlier by accident and- and I had no idea..."

She trailed off, and Tsuna wriggled around to give her a tight hug. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together. He couldn't  _believe_  his father was hiding...  _something_  this big from them. Tsuna would put money down on his old man and these guns and the assassins that had been sent after him being related in some way. And here Tsuna had thought that his father just really didn't care about his family. It had been... what, four years since Tsuna had last seen the man? What the heck did Sawada Iemitsu do while he was away?

"Tsuna," Tenma motioned towards the living room. "Go to the sitting room and fill your mother in on  _those_  times. I'll clean up in here, and then make some tea before we discuss what we're going to do next. This is..." Amber eyes flashed with something a little darker, like whoever Tenma was thinking of at the moment was going to be real sorry very, very soon. "Really getting out of hand."

"Tsu-kun, what...?" Tsuna's mother looked confused. He couldn't blame her.

"Come on, Okaa-san," Tsuna gently led her away from the kitchen. "There's some... stuff that's happened to me over the past few years. I- Me and Nii-san haven't told you yet because we didn't want to worry you but this is... Well, you better sit down first."

Just before Tsuna stepped back into the hallway, he glanced back at his surrogate cousin. The kitchen seemed to have dimmed all of a sudden, the whole room looking darker overall, but there was still enough light to cast Tenma's shadow against the far wall.

The demon himself was only standing by the fallen cabinet, arms relaxed at his side, eyes coolly taking in the stash of guns, and looking entirely, deceptively human.

His shadow's profile however loomed high and menacing, its fingers ending in long lethal claws, its grinning mouth filled with fangs, and its back arched with the weight of two magnificent ghostly wings.

All in all, it was a terrifying sight.

And Tsuna had never felt safer.

 


End file.
